Phils miss out on Upton, try to seal deal for reliver

One of the outfielders on the wish list of many Philadelphia fans — even if he wasn’t on that of the Phillies nearly as much as many reports alleged — got his dream contract from the Atlanta Braves Wednesday when B.J. Upton agreed to a five-year deal with the Phils’ National League East rivals.

It brings an end to a curious “bidding war” for Upton where Atlanta might have been the only team to make a concrete offer. ESPN analyst and longtime lousy general manager Jim Bowden breathlessly tweeted days ago that the Braves, Phillies and a “mystery team” were in a “fascinating bidding war” for Upton.

The biggest mystery seemed to be where, exactly, the fingerprints of a serious effort by the Phillies on Upton were found. Despite reports to the contrary, there was no visit to Philly by Upton, and there was no reason for the Phillies to stop any misleading reports about Upton to prevent his cost to a rival to rise.

That said, there is a deal the Phillies are close to consummating: A trade that would solve their need for a dependable set-up man in the bullpen.

Wilton Lopez was in Philadelphia on Wednesday, having his arm checked as the Phillies tried to finalize the details of a trade that will make the Astros right-hander their eight-inning reliever for 2013. While nothing is official and names won’t be divulged until then, a source said the cost is a pair of prospects close to ready for big-league action.

One of the prospects discussed was catcher Sebastian Valle, who became expendable when the Phils acquired another backstop, Tommy Joseph, in the Hunter Pence deal with San Francisco at the trade deadline last season. Joseph, 21, highly impressed the organization with his play at Double-A Reading and in the Arizona Fall League. Valle, 22, and Joseph are at about the same spot in their development, and thanks to a solid reputation for developing catchers, the Phillies are getting value for that position.

The safe money for the other prospect is one of the handful of relievers the Phils brought up last season — Justin DeFratus, Mike Stutes, Michael Schwimer or Jake Diekman.

Lopez, 29, was 6-3 with 10 saves, a 2.17 ERA and 1.04 WHIP for an otherwise woeful Astros squad in 2012. Over the last three seasons he has averaged 68 innings and has a 2.64 ERA and 1.126 WHIP. He is in his first year of arbitration eligibility, so the Phils are getting a late bloomer in his prime and getting paid a reasonable wage.

Lopez would set up Jonathan Papelbon and should allow Antonio Bastardo to move into more of a specialist/seventh inning role. It also takes the heat off young, talented right-hander Phillippe Aumont, who showed big-time potential as a reliever last season. Throw in Jeremy Horst and Josh Lindblom and the Phillies suddenly have a bullpen with youth, talent and experience.

As for the continued need for outfielders, that process should heat up soon, with the Winter Meetings on tap next week and the deadline for teams to tender offers to their own free agents to protect their compensation rights arriving Friday. Giants center-fielder Angel Pagan isn’t close to re-signing with the defending World Series champs, and the Phillies are in a prime position to get after the rangy outfielder and N.L. leader in triples last season. It will be interesting to see what becomes of Michael Bourn and his lofty contract expectations, and if his value recedes enough to get the Phils’ attention.